Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Summary In what follows, I will consider the “year-stamps” employed in Scripture, i.e., statements of the form, “Such-and-such an event took place in the Xth year of Y.” In the process, I will suggest some ways in which the Biblical narrative might relate to events in the extra-Biblical world, though…
In the first essay on the parable of the Prodigal Son, I suggested that the problems commentators and others encounter in interpreting Jesus three-part parable are not accidental. These are not just problems in our ignorance of cultural background. They are intentional features of the stories —stories designed to poke…
The story of the Prodigal Son is perhaps the most well-known story in the Bible. As others have observed, it may also be one of the most misunderstood. In two short essays, I will point out features of this story that are commonly neglected, aspects of Jesus’ parable that might…
The parable of Lazarus and the nameless rich man is not an independent story. It is part of a long context that begins in Luke 15:1, where Jesus is eating with tax collectors and sinners and the scribes and Pharisees grumble. In response to their hardheartedness, Jesus tells a three-part…
The Bible is written so that even when a reader cannot pick up on what might be deeper or more detailed aspects of a text, there is virtually always a message to be heard. In the ancient world, where the “reader” of Scripture would likely be a church official facing…
The distinction between garden (or vineyard) and field begins in Genesis 2. This relates to the ordering of the formless world. Plants of the field are contrasted with the garden planted by God in Genesis 2:5&8. Later on, under the Old Covenant the Israelites will be required to keep their…
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A famous passage from Melville’s Pierre, when he discovers the existence of his previously unknown sister. “Ten million things were as yet uncovered to Pierre. The old mummy lies buried in cloth on cloth; it takes time to unwrap this Egyptian king. Yet now, forsooth, because Pierre began to see…
One Edward Bok wrote in 1890, the year before Melville died, that “Mr. Melville is now an old man, but still vigorous. He is an employee of the Customs Revenue Service, and thus still lingers around the atmosphere which permeated his books. Forty-four years ago, when his most famous tale,…
One Edward Bok wrote in 1890, the year before Melville died, that “Mr. Melville is now an old man, but still vigorous. He is an employee of the Customs Revenue Service, and thus still lingers around the atmosphere which permeated his books. Forty-four years ago, when his most famous tale,…
Some background notes for a lecture on Melville. It’s a simplification, but a revealing one, to say that American literature has been dominated by two themes that at times become one theme: God and America. The earliest American literature is devotional, sermonic, hortatory, hagiographic, or a recounting of providential history.…
Some background notes for a lecture on Melville. It’s a simplification, but a revealing one, to say that American literature has been dominated by two themes that at times become one theme: God and America. The earliest American literature is devotional, sermonic, hortatory, hagiographic, or a recounting of providential history.…
INTRODUCTION Jehu has destroyed the leaders of the house of Ahab. But Elijah prophesied that the house of Ahab would be totally destroyed, and now Jehu sets out on a war of utter destruction, a war like the original conquest of Joshua. Like Joshua too, Jehu destroys the most important…
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